Getting Started with Intel® Cluster Checker for Linux*

Intel® Cluster Checker verifies the configuration and performance of Linux based clusters and checks compliance with the Intel® Cluster Ready architecture specification. If issues are found, Intel® Cluster Checker diagnoses the problems and may provide recommendations on how to repair the cluster.

Intel® Cluster Checker has the following features:

Dynamic detection of cluster configuration, operation, and performance issues.
Problem diagnoses with severity and confidence levels.
On-demand data collection.

Intel® Cluster Checker is installed as part of the following suites:

Intel® Parallel Studio XE 2016 Cluster Edition.
For Intel® Cluster Ready partners, as a stand-alone product.

The following flowchart represents the usage model for working with the Intel® Cluster Checker.

Prerequisites

1. Install Intel® Cluster Checker using the bundled installer.

2. We recommend running the tool as a non-root user. Before using Intel® Cluster Checker for the first time, the runtime environment must be setup. Two files are included to setup the runtime environment, clckvars.sh for shells with Bourne syntax and clckvars.csh for shells with C-shell syntax. Source the appropriate file from the command line. For example:

source /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2/bin/clckvars.sh

3. Create a text file that lists the compute nodes in the cluster using one hostname per line. In these examples, this file is named "nodefile". Here is an example for one head node and four compute nodes:

frontend #role: head
node1
node2
node3
node4

For detailed system requirements, see the "System Requirements" section in the Intel® Cluster Checker Release Notes.

Step 1: Collect data

Run the following from a command line. nodefile should be in a shared & writeable location.

clck-collect -a -f nodefile

Step 2: Analyze the data

Run this from a command line:

clck-analyze -f nodefile

Resolve any issues reported in step 2 and repeat steps 1 and 2 until you are satisfied with the results.

By default, diagnosed signs are not included in the analyzer output. If the analyzer reports issues, then it will be beneficial to output diagnosed signs on subsequent runs. More data about signs and diagnoses can be found in the User's Guide. Run this from a command line to print diagnosed signs:

clck-analyze -f nodefile -p diagnosed_signs

There will be occasions where modifications of the default XML configuration file are needed. This can happen when more output is desired, test parameters need to be modified, the log level must be changed, etc. More information can be found in the User's Guide.

Troubleshooting/FAQ

Files will be installed into /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2.

For help with the collector, run:

clck-collect --help
For help with the analyzer, run:

clck-analyze --help
To view collected data, use the database query tool.
For help with the query tool, run:

clckdb --help
To customize the analysis behavior:
Make a copy of the default XML file.

cp /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2/etc/clck.xml ~

Edit the XML file options.

To use a custom XML file with the analyzer, run the following (if the custom XML file is named "~/clck.xml"):

clck-analyze -f nodefile -c ~/clck.xml

Documentation and Resources

Document	Description
Intel® Cluster Checker Developer’s Guide	Contains a breakdown of the following components: the knowledge base, the connector, and the database schema. The document is located at: /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2/doc/developers_guide.pdf
Intel® Cluster Checker User's Guide	Contains a description of the product, including the following components and processes: the analyzer, knowledge base, connector, data collection, data providers, and the database schema. The document is located at: /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2/doc/users_guide.pdf
Intel® Cluster Checker Release notes	Contains a brief overview of the product, new features, system requirements, installation notes, documentation, known limitations, technical support, and the disclaimer and legal information. The document is located at: /opt/intel/clck/3.1.2/doc/Release_Notes.txt

Legal Information

Intel, and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Optimization Notice
Intel's compilers may or may not optimize to the same degree for non-Intel microprocessors for optimizations that are not unique to Intel microprocessors. These optimizations include SSE2, SSE3, and SSSE3 instruction sets and other optimizations. Intel does not guarantee the availability, functionality, or effectiveness of any optimization on microprocessors not manufactured by Intel. Microprocessor-dependent optimizations in this product are intended for use with Intel microprocessors. Certain optimizations not specific to Intel microarchitecture are reserved for Intel microprocessors. Please refer to the applicable product User and Reference Guides for more information regarding the specific instruction sets covered by this notice. Notice revision #20110804

Optimization Notice

Intel's compilers may or may not optimize to the same degree for non-Intel microprocessors for optimizations that are not unique to Intel microprocessors. These optimizations include SSE2, SSE3, and SSSE3 instruction sets and other optimizations. Intel does not guarantee the availability, functionality, or effectiveness of any optimization on microprocessors not manufactured by Intel. Microprocessor-dependent optimizations in this product are intended for use with Intel microprocessors. Certain optimizations not specific to Intel microarchitecture are reserved for Intel microprocessors. Please refer to the applicable product User and Reference Guides for more information regarding the specific instruction sets covered by this notice.

Notice revision #20110804